Sylvia snapped to look up at the voice that had called her. It was a familiar voice that had the power to pull her out of even void.

It was a voice that she had longed to hear, and yet at the same time, hot tears welled up in her eyes.

​​

Her body trembled as her gaze moved up to see the owner of the voice.

Mikel stood in front of her, staring down at her coldly. There wasn't even a trace of kindness in his eyes.

Thank the heavens, he is safe. Sylvia let out a soft sigh which disappeared as another bout of pain engulfed her. Her teeth dug into her lips, trying to withstand the pain.

It hurt. It really hurt.

It was almost as if the shackles that bound her knew whenever she managed to muster a small amount of strength. It immediately drained it.

Sylvia looked up to see him again, hoping that the sight of his loving face could ease the misery she was going through.

She wanted to see if his face would give her any sort of hints, anything that could say… I will get you out of here soon…

But all that she saw was cold indifference.

A tremor swept past her body, his gaze chilling her more than the cold prison cell.

Was this real or was this another act of his?

Did he also mistake her for some sort of beast?

No, that was not possible. He was trying to save me by urging me to leave the palace.

Sylvia tried to reason with her tired brain, but it was becoming more and more difficult for her to even think anything.

She watched him as he watched her, no one saying anything.

Was it only for a fraction of a second or had it already been an hour? Sylvia could no longer sense time.

And when he finally moved his lips, it was to address the person standing next to him. "Heal her." He said, his words lacking any emotion just like his face.

Sylvia's eyes traced his gaze and she shuddered again as she caught the sight of her least favorite person.

It could have been anyone but it had to be her.

Priscella nodded obediently and stepped forward to mutter something under her breath, her face wearing a gentle smile.

Almost immediately, warmth spread from the painful bleeding wrist, giving Sylvia a rare moment of relief, but only for a second.

The next second, the soul-splitting pain once again seared through her body, the magic in her shackles acting up.

Sylvia winced, closing her eyes but not before catching the subtle sneer on the despicable woman's face.

She must be really enjoying this, thought Sylvia.

She couldn't help but smile bitterly at the thought of how perfect the two of them looked standing next to each other, acting in such coordination.

He ordered. She complied. Perfect. Just what I needed. Sylvia sighed, too tired to think about anything.

She could understand the man acting so coldly in front of her. Perhaps he was putting on a show so that he could somehow rescue her from this prison.

But did he really have to bring the dreadful woman along with him? Wasn't she suffering enough already?

And then… suddenly… a frightening thought entered her mind. What if he was not acting?

No. No. No. Not trusting him right now would be the same as betraying him. I should trust him. Sylvia told herself.

She even felt guilty for trying to take her own life. She had acted too selfishly, only thinking of her own pain. But then again, her pain was… unbearable…

Either way… it really didn't matter… because once again she had somehow walked into a situation where her life was not really hers.

Her fate and her future were at the mercy of someone else, her weak helpless little self cuffed and collared, unable to do anything about it.

She was once again back where it had all begun. Except now she was captured by some of the most powerful mages in the entire mainland.

Sylvia chuckled wryly. She was at a point where the drilling pain was comical. Perhaps she had lost her sanity. She didn't care anymore.

The man in front of her was her only solace, only light at the end of a dark and dreadful tunnel, but now it was clear to her that the tunnel probably was never-ending.

Why am I so useless? Sylvia struggled, the chains binding her clanking as they shook and hit the stone wall she was hanging on.

"Easy there, darling," Mikel said. "It's useless to struggle. You need to accept your fate."

His words were like a hammer that hit the painful reality, shoving it into her brain. It was useless to search for kindness in them.

Sylvia didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to listen to his stabbing words. She wanted to trust him.

She really did but maybe because every last bit of her sanity was being sucked out by these shackles, she didn't know what to believe anymore.

"I still can't believe that she managed to fool almost all of us." Priscella sighed.

"Your highness is extremely astute to catch her act." She smiled coyly, even adding a shameless praise in there.

"Hmmm… Nothing like that. I am sure anyone would have noticed it." Mikel replied.

"Filthy creatures have started infiltrating our mainland once again. We need every bit of advantage we can find to permanently deal with them this time around."

Priscella nodded. The two of them discussed war strategies and slaughtering the said filthy creatures as if they were merely discussing the weather.

Sylvia closed her eyes without looking up again and a few minutes later, she heard shuffling sounds and then her prison cell door being once again tightly banged shut.

She had many questions but there it was. There was the answer to her biggest question.

She was never ever going to get out of this hellhole…